iPhone prototype finder regrets “mistake”

Brian Hogan, a 21-year-old resident of Redwood City, said through his lawyer that when he accepted $5,000 from Gizmodo for the phone, he thought he was providing Gizmodo exclusive access to review it.

“He regrets his mistake in not doing more to return the phone,” said attorney Jeffrey Bornstein in a statement. “Even though he did obtain some compensation from Gizmodo, Brian thought that it was so that they could review the phone.”

The unmasking of Hogan is just the latest twist in a case that has gripped the technology world. Gizmodo posted a stunning piece on the lost prototype after buying the phone for $5,000 from Hogan, who found it in a Redwood City bar.

Hogan has been interviewed by police but has not been charged. Under California law, a person who finds an object that has information about its owner must make reasonable and just efforts to return the phone before appropriating it for themselves.

A friend of Hogan made attempts to return the phone to Apple but to no avail. Hogan, however, apparently made no attempt to return the phone to the bar or contact Apple or authorities directly. He apparently did find the name of the iPhone’s owner, Apple engineer Gray Powell, through Powell’s Facebook app on the phone. But then Apple remotely killed the phone, Bornstein said.

Wired found Hogan after investigating clues on social networking sites, which allowed them to confirm his identity with a source.

Police have been investigating the case and are looking at possibly charging Hogan with theft and Gizmodo for receipt of stolen property. Investigators served a search warrant on Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s Fremont home on Friday but prosecutors have not filed a complaint in the case.